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INTERVIEW WITH ROB KING
1.Why were you contacted to work on the first HOMM What attracted
you to the project? Were you familiar with the heroic-fantasy universe?
Heroes of Might and Magic was the first score Paul Romero and I worked
on together. When Jon Van Canegham and Mark Caldwell (from New World
Computing) gave me the green light and creative control on the music
production, I knew I wanted to take a very classical approach to it. On
HOMM I the graphics encouraged me to do a very baroque score. I really
wanted it to be like a classical soundtrack in a sense.
A friend introduced me to Paul back in 1992 at one of his infamous
parties where he gets friends together to play music at his house. I
remember seeing him play piano and was extremely impressed not only
with his abilities but also with how genuine of a person he was. We
immediately hit it off and remained the best of friends ever since.
When it was time to get into the score I gave him a call and he came
over to my apartment at the time for a meeting. Back then I had a
roommate and my &studio& was basically my bedroom with tons of gear and
a small futon in the corner. We started bouncing ideas back and forth
and came up with a couple of pieces. I knew that we were going to make
something special with that game. Between his Classical background and
my pop music background our collaboration was not only melodic but very
catchy and had all the elements of good classical arrangements. We did
that whole score in the bedroom of my apartment in South Pasadena, CA
at the time.
HOMM was the 4th project I worked on and I was very new to the
whole game design thing and my vision of audio was purely based on the
films I saw from the past. So my interpretations of a heroic-fantasy
universe were images of King Arthur, Excalibur and all those cool
historical documentaries from the 80&s. Jon&s vision is what attracted
me to the game and Jon & Mark are two of the most genuine, cool and
generous people I know. I will continue to remain great friends with
2. Is this the kind of game you play? If yes, is there a chance to meet you online? What's your nickname?
Yes!! I must admit I don&t have too much time to play
games, but the HOMM series has always been one of my favourites to
play. I have spent months playing all versions of the game and really
look forward to installing HOMM 5 on my computers. I have always been a
fan of RTS and strategy games, but for some reason Heroes has always
been my favourite to play and working on it has absolutely nothing to
do with it. To me HOMM is like a large animated Chess game. It feels so
damn rewarding beating those armies and snaggin& up a town! ? Hopefully
more people will enjoy the series on this next instalment. I have never
played online, but I might be willing to get my ass kicked when the
game comes out. For the books, Paul has never played a game in his
3. HOMM 5 offers a very different graphic universe
and scenario from previous episodes, does it have an influence in the
new soundtrack?
I think our main influence for HOMM 5 is what HOMM has
evolved into, also drawing from our past work and really aiming at
keeping the player into the game. Believe me, I have been guilty of
turning off the music when I play a game, but not with HOMM. It has
always been so fitting to hear that score during gameplay.
4. How closely did you collaborate with the developers?
We worked fairly close with Fabrice, Sylvain and Thomas at Ubisoft.
They had some good ideas for the direction of this game and came up
with the idea of having a &Theme& based score similar to film. On the
previous games we pretty much just wrote songs from the heart for
everything. On HOMM 5 we came up with a Main melodic theme, 2 sub
themes and wrote the score around those.
5. Which are the tracks with which you are the most satisfied with?
For me it is the Academy, the Haven, Sylvan
and the main title theme.
Our good friend Karin Mushegan returned to do a solo vocal on Haven.
She has been on all the Heroes games since HOMM II. Back then she was
only 17 I believe. Now she is a professional singer working in
Philadelphia and New York. The choir we recorded for the Main theme
were great as well as Fang Fang XU who played the Solo Cello through
the score. I really enjoy the new battle and siege themes as well.
Another favourite is the grass adventure theme. The melody is just so
sweet and we like sweet.
6. Will HOMM5 offer more music than the previous ones?
Yes, a full 2 hours!
7. How does your collaboration with Paul Romero go? What other musicians did you collaborate with?
We usually just sit around reading gossip magazines like US weekly and
Enquirer discussing music direction while reading the misfortunes of
celebrities. Seriously... In some cases Paul comes to the table with
some brilliant ideas and we work out the arrangements or I might have
an arrangement of drums completely laid out with melodic Ideas that we
work from. We have two workstations here at the studio and usually we
are both doing something on the song then go back and forth on both
rigs. There really isn&t any certain way of doing anything, just get it
done fast ya know? When we use other musicians, the arrangement is
usually done and tracked in advance and we replace the sampled parts
with the appropriate musician. On the main theme we actually just did a
choral arrangement to a click/piano track, recorded it at a studio and
brought it back in our studio and wrote the music around the vocals.
Pretty tricky but I actually enjoyed the results. It lets you think a
bit differently about the musical parts.
8. Are the songs performed by real lyric singers? If yes, how did you select them?
Yes, they are all people Paul and myself work with on a regular basis. Top-notch players, every one of them.
9. What is your favourite instrument while composing HOMM music ?
Always the Cello...
1. How were you brought to work on the Might&Magic universe?
Erwan got in touch with me in the first place. He was looking for a
drawer who could give Might&Magic a strong visual identity. The
universes I picture in my graphic novels are dark, warlike and violent.
This was exactly the direction that Erwan wanted the Might&Magic
world to take.
2. In your opinion, what are the most interesting parts of this
universe? How will that translate in the design?
For me the very interest of each fantasy universe lies in the fact that
it allows to feel different places, other eras, and to escape?EUR? I think
you always need a place where you can escape
from the real world constraints. Some people go to watch football
matches, others will ready fantasy novels. In the past sci-fi was the
lead universe, today it?EUR(TM)s heroic fantasy. But in the end all these
gender the story is often like a good old western.
The need to escape remains the same, it only varies in manners.
3. Could you describe the process of creating a new design?
I always start by picturing the different factions, how they are related
to each other, what differentiate them etc?EUR? Then for each side I come
up with some basic shapes and silhouettes that remind of places, eras
etc?EUR? So I give graphical codes to each one of them. Then I use this
basis to create all the characters and places.
On Might&Magic, one constraint was to look different from the usual
fantasy universe. Factions like the undeads or the elves have very
strong and established visual codes and Ubisoft wanted to move away from
this single vision. This is why the elves in Might&Magic do not only
refer to a Celtic imagery but also to American Indians. The Dark elves
on the other hand will remind you of the Italian Renaissance.
4. What are your inspirations?
I am still deeply influenced by my early readings, with artists like
Giger for instance. I also base my inspiration on existing elements a
lot. I really think that if you wish to create something original and
long-lasting, you have to base yourself on existing and historical
grounds. That?EUR(TM)s the kind of things that will speak to everyone and are
unlikely to become old-fashioned.
For instance in the last volume of my current series, Requiem, some
building I drew are directly inspired from some churches of my region.
When I need to draw an armor, the first thing I will do is to search my
13th century weapons encyclopedia, in order to build on cohesive
On top of that like every drawer I always keep a close eye on what other
artists are doing. Their work is always an important source of
inspiration.
5. What particular interest do you find in working on a video game?
How much is it different from your usual work?
For me the most interesting things in videogames is the fact that they
allow us to animate the universes that are created. It is very
impressive to be able to walk in a man-made universe, just like if you
were part of it.
I already worked with videogame industry in the past, but it was more
difficult to see a direct link between what I had created and what was
displayed on the screen?EUR?
For Might&Magic, I took care to create characters where you could
remove some details without breaking the general silhouette. Even if
most of them cannot be translated as such in a videogame right now, we
hope that this will be possible in the future.
6. You became famous in the first place for your work on the Dark
Moon Chronicles, which is also set in a heroic fantasy universe. How
does it felt to work on that kind of universe again?
It was a bit like returning to the past. I really felt at home in this
universe. Fantasy is a gender I am very familiar with, I know how to
handle it even if this time the approach was a bit different. In graphic
novels the characters are simpler, because you know that you will have
to draw them hundreds of times from m My work on
Might&Magic was more about designing characters, which allowed me to
bring more details in the final drawing.
Since my work on the Dark Moon Chronicles, I have worked on many other
projects that allowed me to broaden the palette of characters I could
draw. This helped me a lot for this work given the amount and variety of
what had to be created.
I think my work on Requiem also influenced my designs as they are
darker, with more skulls?EUR? 
7. Anything else you would like to add?
I would say that my work with Ubisoft on the Might & Magic universe
was my best experience with video games so far. I had a lot of freedom
in creating my designs, based on the vision Erwan and his team had of
the universe. It was really a great experience.
As translated by
on the Ubisoft forums
Classical patten for playability in new,
pleasing graphic setting -HoM&M V has a chance to win, not only
veteran, but also new players, hearts
Fifth part of Heroes of Might & Magic is, from the beginning,
shaping up very well.It`s rare that the team of programists (in this
case it`s russian studio Nival, creators of, for example, Etherlords or
Silent Storm) voluenteer to owner of title (Ubisoft) with a proposition
to make a new part of the series. For Russian HoM&M V is an
important project because of two reasons. Firstly it`s a great occasion
to join the first league and start receiving orders from biggest
concerns in branch, secondly it gives opportunity to create new part of
the series, in which most of the russian coders were playing in their
childhood. This enthusiasm and commitment in project is authentically
Fans playing &heroes& didn`t like the last, fourthpart of
cycle (from translator: WRRR.. not true!Wink). They`ll be glad to hear
that HoMM&M V will be based mostly on solution from third part of
series, which is considered to be the best. Essential part of fun in
both games is almost the same - it`s a turn base strategy fantasy, in
which, on kingdome map you administer towns and move armies commanded by
hero with special abilities, in tactic layer you fight on the
battlefield, which is unavoidable, and at the same time the most
important element of every scenario.
This time the game is divided into six campaigns - one for every
fraction, i.e. Haven, Inferno, Necropolis, Academy, Sylvan, Dungeon -
with five missions apiece. Big change, which the new part of
&heroes& adds to the series, is using the 3D graphical engine,
in strategical and tactical level.You can manipulate the camera (rotate,to
bring closer), to see all the units in full details. It`s worth to add
that it (the units) were design based on grafics made by Olivera
Ledroita, famous french comic drawer (maker of for example &Black
Moon Chronicles& series).
Now, some information for veterans of the cycle. Similary like in third
part of &heroes&, here heroes won`t be presence ont the active
battlefield (they`re standing beyond the net, where the units are
moving), but they can cas spels on units that are taking direct
participation in battle. They`ll be gaining experience in battle, after
reaching next level they will automaticly raise one of their
parameters(for example: luck(from translator: ?!?!?), defense, atack),
they will also be able to choose one from 4, available at that moment,
special skills.Accomplishing quests, defeating some of enemies or simply
walking on the strategic map, heroes can also conquer special artefacts,
additionaly raising their skills.
More important than attacking enemy units will be spells casted by
heroes. Magic schools, in new part of &heroes&, will be
six, but there will be no prerequirements and every hero can use any
kind of spells regardless of his fraction.. At least in this moment,
but Erwan Le Breton, one of producers of this game, admits that the
mechanisms of gamepla is still changing and final virsion might be
diffrent from what they show us.
Well... as a matter of fact all the information to this point were known
earlier, but we went to the Ubisoft in Paris to gather some new,
fresh information on HoM&M V. It was a good thing to do, because
everybody is working hard, and new results are much diffrent from this,
what programist announcement even few weeks ago.
The most important from the newest changes is that he battlefield was
finally set. Earlier planned to make an terrain depended on the size of
armies that participate in clash, finally it was decided to make a
chessboard, size 8x10, regardless of number of units and kind of
battle(for example: conquering the towns will take place on the map of
standard sizes). Thanks to that the models of units will be big enough
that the gamers will be able to take a closer look and battles leaded by
armies of diffrent sizes will be interesting enough.
Big changes were made in muliplayer mode. Apart from its standard
versions(including hot-seat mode to play on one computer) we have now
2 new variants - Duel Mode and Ghost Mode. The first one is for
qucik, few minutes battles. Makers compare it to games like .... Tekken
or Soul Calibur. Why? In Duel Mode players can choose one hero (every
with determined army, skills and artefacts) and fighting against each
other on the tactics map. The best of 3 battle-rounds wins the whole
Even more interesting is Ghost Mode, which is suppose to be solution to
boring waiting for the end of turn of the oposing player. Instead of
looking into celling, you`ll be controlling a ghost - in the beggining
only one, later even more - whose task is to explore the map and
follow the active player. The more he (the active player) will be
draging oneself the more energy the ghost will have. He can use this
energy to improve one of his six, diffrent skills - haunt, posses,
curse, devour, guard and vision. He (the ghost) will be able to, for
example &cast a curse& on the other hero, which will lower his
paramets or he can posses neutral units and take control over them in
the next battle. The second option can be used to simplify your victory
(because you are fighting.. with yourself), or make a suprise to the
opposing enemy (because they don`t know they`re fighting with human, not
So there are so much new ideas but taking into account so much activity
of the russian programists, in the day of HoM&M V premiere we might
be suprised even more. But it might be rather good suprise - the game
looks wonderful and it`s in hands of experienced developers. Waiting for
the day of priere of new &heroes&, we can sleep well, but for
the more impatient fans of this respectable, counting over 15 years
serie, it might be pretty hard.
&As translated by
on the Ubisoft forums
I do not see special sense to translate whole
article. It is THE SAME but is worse written. I shall result only one
very interesting piece about tactics of conducting fight:
?<>, or something about ?EURoeinitiative bar?EUR
?EURoeThe classical turn-based mode of battles is simple and predicted up
to banality: for &round& each fighter moves only one time (or
two, if morals high). Vary only the sequence of courses of units and
range of their moving. In Heroes 5 has appeared ?EURoeinitiative bar?EUR.
Its essence in the following. At the debut of fight, badges of units are
on the right edge of &thermometer& .Then they start to be
displaced to the left with the different speed depending on the
initiative of a unit. When someone's icon reaches a left edge of a scale
?EUR“ sounds command &stop& and the turn is given this unit.
Eventually the badge comes back and repeats &run&.
It is well or it is bad? It is awesome! The cyclicity at last has
disappeared, even the concept of &round& has lost sense.
(let's take, for example, pair units: with the initiative 7 and 9; and
so the cycle or &round& in this case will make 7x9=63 turns!)
In HoMM 5 it is hard to expect a result of opposition though also the
local system works under rigid laws. At desire you can calculate
sequence of courses &on five scales forward& but it is
difficult enough. Especially if any modifiers interfere with deal (the
fallen morals or a spell), promotions influencing the speed on
Further. The initiative defining now not only sequence but also
frequency of a turn, becomes so important as well as the damage. Fast
fighter will have time to resemble 2-3 times while the turn will reach
the slow &thick& monster. And a greater variety of valuable
characteristics means fights more sated in the tactical plan.?EUR
As translated by JetJedi
on the Ubisoft forums
?EURoeReflections aloud
Rumors that guys from Nival Interactive are engaged in development of
the fifth Heroes of Might and Magic for the first time have appeared
about two years ago. At first, such assumption caused only skeptical
smiles of players. Really, the idea that development of continuation of
one of the most cult game serials have entrusted domestic developers
seems simply improbable. It is Heroes! Fortunately even the most unusual
dreams at times come true. Hearings have appeared the truth and anything
surprising in it is not present. On the side of the domestic company was
both world popularity and a wide experience in development of turn-based
strategy, and the most advanced technologies. Perhaps already it is
possible to ascertain that decision Ubisoft has appeared correct on all
And in fact when we still shivered in the bus of 800-th route, slowly
but truly coming nearer to Nival?EUR(TM)s office, we had some doubts. Yes, we
certainly saw tens awesome screenshots, set of excellent videoclips,
read numerous interviews of developers and caught each particle of the
information on game. But on the truth, we did not have an integral
impression about the project. Therefore there were some fears to see a
beautiful knickknack or a banal remake of the third Heroes with modern
At last having reached up to &a grey high building at a wood &
we have risen on the fifth floor and have got in possession of Nival
Interactive where we have met Elina Terekhina with Dmitry Estrin,
representatives of PR-service of the company. And now we already sit in
enough spacious room and look at the screen of the monitor where one of
the freshest versions Heroes of Might and Magic V starts to be loaded?EUR?
In general
The first that rivets attention in new Heroes is certainly the graphic.
The decision to transfer game in full 3D and &to release the
camera&, in my opinion, it has appeared absolutely true. You can
consider an armour of your hero in all details or soar up under clouds,
at the certain corner of the review having captured a sight of a
half-map. Both it is functional and it is beautiful. And how all these
shaken trees and animated objects on a map are looks in movement - no
words to describe. Believe, it is more impressive that the most modern
effects in modern shooters. The deal is not in that the game is perfect
in the technological plan - no, there are projects much more impressing
from the point of view of technologies. But under style, competitors of
Heroes of Might and Magic V simply are not present for today. Each model
of characters, each structure are drawn with huge carefulness and love.
In Nival Interactive definitely work artists and animators of an
extra-class.
However one graphic, as is known, will not be full. A gameplay - here
the main highlight of the project. Here it is necessary to recognize
that for Ubisoft and Nival Interactive was a archi-challenge: to keep
spirit and mechanics of the previous parts of a series and to introduce
the changes deducing it on qualitatively new level. It turns out such
&the pursuit of two hares&. And that the most interesting:
similar that our compatriots managed to catch up and catch both.
In general game process has not too changed. Developers have refused
some doubtful innovations of the fourth part and have revived many nice
traditions of the third Heroes. As before we have two basic modes:
strategic and tactical. There are heroes and cities. All it is familiar
and is recognized. We are battled with neutral creatures or enemy
heroes, we siege and we defend fortresses, we travel on &#1072;
adventure map in searches of additional quests and artefacts. There will
be even Graal, with obelisks and collecting pieces of a map.
In total in game six types of castles (playable races): Haven, Academy,
Inferno, Necropolis, Dungeon and Sylvan. In cities, as before, it is
possible to erect buildings, to employ and improve armies. In a tavern
it is possible to meet heroes and &to persuade& them for n-th sum
of gold to join you. More often there leaders of your fraction certainly
come across but the chance to meet in Haven castle, say, elfin ranger is
great enough. As already was spoken above, developers have got rid of
the most unsuccessful ideas of last part of a series. In the big degree
it has concerned cities: the quantity of units increases once a week now
instead of every day. Heroes will not have any more to walk around of
the castle in hope to wait one more &black baby-dragon&. In
total in each castle seven kinds of creatures, it is possible to improve
each of which. Also we can build now absolutely all buildings: times
when it was necessary to choose between construction of a barracks for
spearman and ballista have sunk into oblivion.
By the way, as all of you already for certain know, cities also became
completely three-dimensional that certainly has gone it on advantage.
They are looked simply excellent. All changes of construction are
displayed on the screen of city. However on adventure map there are only
basic structures and improvements but it not too afflicts. The role
system has changed a little. Collecting treasured chests and battling in
bloody fights, our young and not skilled hero gradually accumulates
experience, gets new skills and perks. As before, each hero - the
person, with the history and unique knacks. However, developers have
refused system of ranks so, for example, to become archimagi it is not
fated to us. And it is a pity. A prerogative of heroes became
independent movement on a map, creatures it now is inaccessible. But
caravans between friendly cities will be. One more pleasant news became
that fact that above a soundtrack of game works the person who has
written music for all four parts of Heroes, Robby King. And it means
that melodies awesome on the beauty will be with us again.
Battles - our all.
Perhaps tactical fights have undergone to the most serious changes. And
deal not in that the heroes will not directly participate in battle
again. Turn-based fight has not disappeared also but has ceased to be
classical in full understanding of this word. Orthodox admirers of a
series, for certain, in fear were seized by hearts. Easy, friends!
Simply each creature and the hero has now a parameter of the initiative
on which depends how this unit will often go. I can not tell that this
innovation has radically changed game process but dynamics and tactical
depth has definitely added. Now is possible the situation when, for
example, fast skeletons will have time to reach the opponent and some
times to strike on it while sluggish zombie hardly-hardly will reach
enemy creatures.
Before fight to us by tradition suggest to place army. Some greater
creatures, like dragons, can borrow at once some cells. Having finished
with this procedure we start fight. Below we have the scale of
initiative showing as soon there will come a turn of each unit.
Fractions strikingly differ from each other not only appearance but also
a manner of game. Promotes a variety and introduction of special racial
abilities. Moreover, even each creature will have a feature, unique
skill. Griffins can fly up on some turns in air that then to fall upon
the area specified earlier. If the opponent will guess a direction of
impact and will have time to replace the creatures - griffins will
simply waste time. And such tactical dodges, simple at first sight but
complex on the second, in game set. And battle - It is the present
enchantling spectacle of paints and special effects. The clever camera
over and over again choosing so successful foreshortenings what even
after tens fights there is no desire to disconnect it.
Besides a usual exchange of usual impacts and application of abilities,
heroes and some creatures also can create spells. In total available
five magic schools: Destructive Magic, Dark Magic, Light Magic,
Summoning Magic (it magic of the nature). In each of them five levels.
In general, all is besides recognized, down to separate charms.
Unfortunately, the size of a battlefield will not vary depending on
quantity of creatures or the filled stacks at battling parties. However
at the castle siege it will increase a lot. The siege itself does not
differ enough than that we saw in the previous games series. Catapults
also destroy walls, arrows on protective towers reduce enemy numbers,
and flying creatures with ease jump through walls. Each castle will have
also a protective feature: ditches, entangling legs roots and so forth.
. Anywhere do not share also automatic fights.
In general, developers have achieved desirable: the saturation and
dynamics of battles have raised a lot, tactical opportunities have
extended, and every possible graphic effects please an eye.
Peripetias of a subject
As is known, for universe of Might and Magic Ubisoft has developed the
completely new world that named Ashan, having refused from a subject
heritage 3DO. By the way, action of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic,
another Ubisoft games, will occur also in Ashan, and under Ervan Le
Breton's application, the producer, responsible for coordination of
scripwriters, writers and designers of Ubisoft, subject lines of these
two projects will be crossed here and there.
In general, the outset in Heroes of Might and Magic V is simple enough:
rest of the Griffins Empire, preparing wedding of young emperor Nikolay
and Isabell, is broken by intrusion of demons. Nikolay, as well as its
father twenty years ago, wages the army on war having left narrowed in a
safe Summer Palace. But defeat follows defeat and Isabell decides to
help the husband having sent the authorized representatives, Beatris and
Godric, to search the help at powerful magicians of Sparkling Cities and
mysterious Irollan elfes: One of the basic suppliers of subject data
become videoclips on a engine of game. On direction it is a little
reminds that we saw in Warcraft III and this is a compliment. Besides,
together with new graphic technologies developers had new opportunities
for creation of atmospheric and impressing rollers. We also hope on a
good sound.
Besides usual missions we are waited also by missions there at the
beginning castles are not present, or they should be besieged. In
addition, guys from Nival Interactive have given one more pleasant
surprise having made unique in own way night mission. Functionally it
almost differs nothing from the others but from the aesthetic point of
view is capable to delight any player.
Hot-seat and not only.
Developers give very big attention to a multiplayer. &Great and
awful& hot-seat was not gone, on which in due time everyone played
Heroes has spent a great lot of sleepless nights. In addition there will
be some new modes, for example, duel, whose concept seems friendly much
to the &Etherlords&. Each player types army of creatures and
fight begins. A detail of others multiplayer modes developers do not
open yet but also here us the couple of surprises for certain waits.
Heroes are not born, Heroes become
On today Heroes of Might and Magic V already generally are ready. Yes,
works above the interface are still conducted, bugs are caught, the
balance is perfected, and even addition of any new opportunities but
similar is discussed, that at Nival Interactive and Ubisoft is excellent
verified game turns out. Madly beautiful, dynamical, simple under the
form and deep under the maintenance the fifth Heroes not only continue
nice traditions of a series but also introduce the unique features.
Certainly to make full and precise representation about the project in
some hours it is impossible. For example, I shall not undertake to judge
value and quality of a strategic mode as it is necessary a much more
time for high-grade acquaintance. But know, since we have left
hospitable Nival Interactive office, me do not cease torture desire
again to plunge in the surprising world of the fifth Heroes. Game really
grasps, forcing again and again mentally to come back by those not
numerous happy o'clock lead for it. Even now when these words are
written it would be desirable to forget about all and to jerk aside
stations of the underground ?EURoeOctober Field?EUR in shy hope still time
to look at this miracle even with half an eye. Believe, new Heroes are
almost an embodiment of dream. I hope that after an output of game it
&almost& will disappear. Fie-fie-fie.?EUR
The Academy
We talk with creative director Alexander
Mishulin about Heroes of Might and Magic V, and we profile the unique
creatures of the Academy faction.
Since it's the latest chapter in the popular
fantasy strategy series, there's obviously a lot of interest in Heroes
of Might and Magic V. However, there's also some apprehension, since
Heroes V is the first game not to be designed by series creator New
World Computing. Instead, Russia's Nival Interactive has the honor of
delivering the latest Heroes game, and the studio is trying to blend
the rich story and tradition of the previous games with some new
elements, most notably a 3D graphics engine. We have some of the first
unit details in the game, and we profile the Academy faction in this
preview. But first, we caught up with creative director and codesigner
Alexander Mishulin to ask him about Heroes V. The game is scheduled to
ship early next year for the PC.
From what we can tell, the
Academy town and its inhabitants seem very similar to the original
Wizard town of Heroes II and the Tower town of Heroes III. Why was the
decision made to keep the town similar to its original versions?
Alexander Mishulin:
As Heroes of Might
and Magic V continues the famous series, each game faction has
something similar and familiar about it, and the Academy is no
exception. This is an evolution, not a revolution, so fans of the
Heroes of Might and Magic series should feel comfortable in the fifth
game, yet have something new to explore. Besides, the Academy has
always been differing from the other factions with its tactic focus on
ranged attacks and magic, thus making it unique and interesting from a
gameplay perspective. Plus, the titan is one of the all-time favorite
creatures of the Heroes of Might and Magic series, so the world of the
fifth game would not be complete without him. Still, we changed this
faction a little bit, to make it more cohesive. Now the Academy is the
hometown for mages, who summon or construct other creatures: djinns,
titans, golems, and so on.
Could you tell us about how the
unit upgrade system will work in Heroes V? Will players be forced to
choose between two separate unit types of the same tier of
development, similar to Heroes IV, or will they simply be able to
build all units in a town, provided they have the buildings? Will
existing units have to be upgraded manually by visiting a town? Will
individual creatures earn experience points to gain levels instead,
like heroes?
For the unit upgrade system, we
chose the proven scheme of the previous games of the series. You need
to upgrade a dwelling in your town (for which you need to meet certain
requirements, such as owning enough resources or having built smaller
buildings), after which you can buy upgraded units from this dwelling.
To upgrade already acquired units, you need to enter the town which
has a corresponding upgraded dwelling or to enter a special building
on the adventure map, the hill fort. There is also a specialization
that is exclusive to Haven heroes, who can upgrade any human-based
Haven units to any other human-based Haven units (which of course
requires godly amounts of recourses). Creatures do not get experience.
Yet, you can increase the creatures' parameters by other means. For
example, Academy heroes have the unique ability to create &miniartifacts&
for their creatures, granting them better offense, defense, or speed.
Could you explain how unit
generation will work? Will new units become available from
unit-producing structures daily, like in Heroes IV, or will they only
be available weekly, like in Heroes I-III? Will there be random
astrological weeks that will cause certain unit-producing structures
to produce extra units, or &plague& weeks that will cause
fewer units to be produced, like in the earlier games?
Unit generation happens weekly, as
it produces an additional inside cycle in the game. Of course, some
may say that visiting town every week in order to get new units is not
convenient, but this provides for a better balance. Weekly generation
better fits the whole concept of the series: traveling, adventures,
and fights. This way, after a big army defeat, you will have to plan
your actions, say, whether you should stick around to the closest
city, gathering the resources and waiting for the next army to
generate, or whether you should ride full speed to another town.
The number of units &being born&
each week depends on many factors: the buildings in the town (not only
dwellings themselves, as there are certain buildings affecting unit
generation), the captured buildings on the adventure map (say, if you
have a peasant dwelling on the map, it will also slightly increase the
number of the peasants in the town), and &astrology.& If a
week is announced to be a week of a certain creature, the generation
of these creatures will increase. There are also other pleasant and
not so pleasant events associated with the beginning of a next week.
Seeing the different factions
raises the question for us--how will morale and other factors affect
different units in the game? Will armies still receive morale bonuses
if they contain only units from the same town, such as all Academy
units? Will morale bonuses still give units additional turns, and will
luck still grant units critical hits?
Heroes of Might and Magic V will
certainly incorporate morale and luck like previous games, although
they will also face some changes. The gradation of these parameters
will increase (in the previous games they had gradation of 3 maximum
and -3 minimum). If an army consists of units of one faction, its
morale increases. If there are units of different factions (or under a
hero of a different faction), it will have some penalty on morale. The
amount of penalty depends on the relations between the factions. For
example, an army mixed of Haven and Inferno units will have relatively
high morale. Morale can also depend on other factors. For example,
Undead units are generally not influenced by morale.
As there are certain changes in the game
mechanics, morale does not giv it affects the
unit's initiative, giving it the ability to move sooner next time (it
kind of gives an additional half of a turn). And luck grants units
critical hits, allowing them to make much more damage than usual.
We see from the screenshots that
Academy heroes will have the very colorful distinction of riding a
caparisoned war elephant. Will Academy heroes have any other kind of
distinctions? Will they still be might or magic heroes that start out
with either combat bonuses or a spell book, or will they have some other
unique abilities?
All our heroes have colorful
distinctions, both in their appearances and in their gameplay
characteristics. We don't divide the factions into &strictly
might& and &strictly magic.& They are more likely to be
&more magic& or &less magic.& And sure enough, an
Academy hero, being a native of a mage town, is &more magic.&
For example, the hero has a rather high knowledge parameter that gives
him more spell points. There is also a unique ability for heroes of each
faction. I have mentioned the ability of Haven heroes to retrain the
units into other units. The unique ability of an Academy hero is to
create small artifacts (we call them miniartifacts) for his creatures,
increasing certain parameters of his army. There are also some special
abilities that are available only for heroes of a certain class. For
example, Academy heroes can increase the spell points cost of their
opponent's spells.
We really tried to reflect each faction's
profile in the way it's played, and we feel that this really increase
the depth and consistency of the whole game--both from the gameplay and
universe perspectives.
Thank you, Alexander.
THE M&M UNIVERSE
of all, could you introduce yourself and explain us what is your job
on HOMM 5?
name is Erwan Le Breton, Might & Magic Content Director at Ubisoft.
quest is to build the new world of Might & Magic that will be the
setting of all the current and future M&M games produced and / or
published by Ubisoft.
my favourite colour is red (for those with an unhealthy obsession for
the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.)
of Ubisoft, I?EUR(TM)m a published writer, author of a dozen pen & paper
RPGs, children?EUR(TM)s novels, and comic books for various French
publishers.
~~Richard~~
I?EUR(TM)m
Richard Dansky, Might & Magic World Designer at Ubisoft
&I?EUR(TM)ve
worked on numerous games for Ubi, including Far Cry, Ghost Recon: Island
Thunder, and Cold Fear, and before that I contributed to roughly 130
roleplaying books for White Wolf. I?EUR(TM)ve published four novels,
including the fantasy series The Trilogy of the Second Age, and various
other bits of fiction.
of work, I enjoy building large wooden badgers, and running about with
silly knees-bent advancing behaviours.
did Ubisoft decide to revamp the M&M universe?
are several
reasons for this.
The world used as a background for the Might & Magic games
has often changed from
one title to the next (Varn, Cron, Terra, Xeen and then Axeoth with
Enroth, Erathia, Jadame, Cheh'dian, etc.)
a result the consistency between all the M&M games was a little weak
and the overall background was vague, if not flat-out confusing at
times. We want to have a single, deep world that?EUR(TM)s consistent across
the board and has layers of story and content that players can just dive
There was just so much information in the world that it was difficult
for new players to really embrace everything that was there. The mass of
backstory and continuity was almost intimidating, and we wanted to
create a world that new players could enjoy as well.
As much as we enjoyed the original M&M worlds, they had a certain
science fiction undertone, while we really wanted to focus on the
fantasy aspects ?EUR“ the ?EURoemight?EUR and ?EURoemagic?EUR, as it were. Those
games were also ?EURoelighter?EUR in tone than what we had in mind for the
new generation of M&M games.
we really loved what was done in the past, so it simply made sense to
respect that and build our world from the ground up, focusing on
capturing the core essence of what drew as all back to Axeoth over and
over, rather than try to modify things that people really loved and
Precisely,
what did you keep from the old M&M universe?
more obvious aspect is that we are still in ?EURoehigh fantasy?EUR world,
ripe with valiant Human knights in shining armor, mysterious Elves
lurking in the woods, savage Orc tribes raiding the frontiers, Undead
armies gathering in the dark of the night, and all that good stuff.
of course, in our new implementation, expect to find more than one twist
on the canonical representation of these elements. J
we decided to keep the Factions that made the Heroes line so
popular. By ?EURoefaction?EUR, we mean the city / nation / race coalitions
known to Heroes fans as Haven, Inferno, Academy, Dungeon,
Stronghold, etc. Many of them will be back, some with a familiar aspect
and ?EURoephilosophy?EUR, others with a bunch of surprises up their sleeves!
we?EUR(TM)ll be revealing loads of exciting stuff on the factions, but for
now, here?EUR(TM)s a quick rundown on the first two: Haven and Inferno.
The Humans of the Holy Griffin Empire are inspired and guided by angels.
It?EUR(TM)s a feudal society driven by the rigorous edicts of the Dragon of
Light ?EUR“ not any place you?EUR(TM)d want to be a heretic. Picture an
ironclad alliance of Arthurian Britain and Victorian England and you get
a general idea. Oh, and did we mention the Spanish Inquisition? Guess
Imprisoned between worlds by the legendary wizard known as the Seventh
Dragon, the Legions of Chaos want out in the worst way ?EUR“ and we mean
that literally. Destructive, hateful, vicious, sadistic ?EUR“ that?EUR(TM)s
just a warm-up for these guys. Even worse, they?EUR(TM)ve got a plan, and
that?EUR(TM)s where things get really interesting.
preserved the epic quality of the former M&M titles, which drives
the player to experience fantasy on a grand scale and participate in
world-shattering events. The actions the player takes impact the whole
were also determined to maintain the
ambiguous oppositions and moral choices which made the M&M
narratives so compelling.
rather than a striking opposition
between Good (Light) and Evil (Darkness), there has always been,
in the former M&M games, a balance of the opposites, with most
characters painted in shades and grey (ie: fully fleshed out personalities,
covering the whole spectrum between radiant benevolence and wicked
villainy instead of square-jawed caricatures).
is all good, and nobody is pure evil. Any character (and the heroes
above all) could choose to be a villain or a hero at the moment. It?EUR(TM)s
a lot like life as we know it.
are your objectives with this new world ? What innovations can we
things first: we want to make it deep, consistent, and exciting!
?EURoedeep and consistent?EUR, we mean giving the world a sense of history
and of scope. The universe shouldn?EUR(TM)t feel like it was shiny and new
and unwrapped just for the game.
might not see all the background that?EUR(TM)s being built in Heroes 5,
but it?EUR(TM)s important that it?EUR(TM)s there ?EUR“ that sort of continuity
informs everything else, and lets you know that the world doesn?EUR(TM)t end
at the edge of your mission map.
for the ?EURoeexciting?EUR aspect, well, expect to re-discover all of the
familiar fantasy places and races, with countless subtle touches that
will spark your imagination.
among the races you?EUR(TM)ll see will be our Dragons, who are, literally,
the base the entire universe is built on. They are a vital part of every
aspect of our world ?EUR“ from the cosmology to the nature of magic, to
religion and the way people talk day to day.
you describe us the process of re-creating a universe like this one?
What are the key areas you are working on?
first task is to design a common background: a brand
new fantasy world complete with history, geography, politics, culture,
we build a common ?EURoeidentity?EUR: a tone, an atmosphere, a style that
will permeate all the facets of any future M&M products from the
global concepts (dramatic themes, general mood, etc.) to the more
specific details (graphic codes and symbols, musical leitmotivs, etc.).
because we are talking about games, we must also create a common set of
?EURoecore rules?EUR: What is mana and how do we use it? What are a paladin
or a fireball in our world? These things seem pretty basic, but you
really need to nail down your definitions early ?EUR“ it?EUR(TM)s amazing how
many things can cascade off of simple things like this.
are your inspirations for this new universe?
We?EUR(TM)ve
been heavily inspired by seminal& fantasy
authors like J.R.R. Tolkien (of course), but also Michael Moorcock, Guy
Gavriel Kay, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Glen Cook and George R.R.
Martin. These are authors whose worlds and stories are both epic and
tragic, with the perfect balance of horror and wonder.
the graphical aspect, what orientation can we expect from future
M&M games?
us say that it?EUR(TM)s time for Dorothy to ride the dark whirlwind and leave
the gentle light-hearted fantasy of Axeoth behind. Ahead lies a world of
blood and shadows, of jagged blades and voracious flames, of sweet lies
and bitter poison?EUR?
&That?EUR(TM)s
where we?EUR(TM)re taking you, and the best part is, you?EUR(TM)ll gonna ask for
did you decide to work with Olivier Ledroit on this project? Could
you introduce him to us?
Ledroit is a French Comic book artist, very popular in Europe, best
known for his first series Les Chroniques de la Lune Noire (?EURoeThe
Black Moon Chronicles?EUR, ).
has more recently worked with the British writer Pat
Mills (of Marshal
and Slaine fame)
on several ?EURoedark horror?EUR series such as Sha or Requiem.
is an extremely talented artist, and his dark baroque fantasy universe
was one of our main graphic inspirations for the new M&M world. So
the logical step was to ask him to contribute on the project, and you
easily imagine our extreme excitement when we he accepted the assignment
more info on Ledroit, check out his interview and bio.
Heroes 5, why was it important to have this new universe?
because Heroes 5 will be the first M&M game published by Ubisoft,
and as such, will really lay the bases for the ?EURoereborn?EUR brand J
the events of the single player campaign you?EUR(TM)ll play in Heroes 5 will
have direct repercussions in all the M&M games to be released in the
coming years. Here is where the avalanche starts, and it?EUR(TM)s going to be
a hell of a ride down.
are your plans for the future regarding this new universe?
the future M&M games, we will deal with the ?EURoeapocalyptic?EUR
consequences of the main plot featured in Heroes 5.
will also expand the ?EURoeknown world?EUR to include new Factions (5 are
currently planned).
we are already thinking of a ?EURoeprequel?EUR saga that would let you delve
into some of the more obscure mysteries of our world.
&There?EUR(TM)s
an awful lot of backstory, culture and history in the world we?EUR(TM)ve
created, and we want to give you a chance to explore it. This is, of
course, another way of saying we want to share all of the cool stuff
we?EUR(TM)ve been coming up with, because, well, it?EUR(TM)s cool and we?EUR(TM)re just
naturally both a couple of show-offs. It?EUR(TM)s still cool, though. Honest.
you tell us more about Isabel, the key character of the game? What
does she look like, what will happen to her, how is she? Why is she
so important?
Let?EUR(TM)s
just put it this way ?EUR“ when a child is born in a way that contravenes
every known law of the universe, it might be time to start worrying.
Isabel was that child. She?EUR(TM)s a beautiful woman of noble birth, the
only child of her parents?EUR(TM) old age. Her
upbringing was rather lonely ?EUR” she had nannies, tutors, and maids
rather than siblings, parents, and friends. None of them could have
prepared her, however, for what she?EUR(TM)s about to go through.
that she has come of age, she is promised to Nicolai, the young ruler of
the Holy Griffin Empire.
Isabel is not destined to find happiness. Her fianc?(C) will die, her
world will crumble, and, well, you?EUR(TM)ll just have to see what happens
after that. It?EUR(TM)s going to be one hell of a honeymoon.
for her portrait, well, picture an immaculate apple-blossom frozen in
its delicate beauty and purity by an early, unnatural, frost, and set to
a sharp, metallic twig... This is what Isabel looks like?EUR?
conclude why do you think people will enjoy the universe you helped
to create?
think that the best praise we could get for this new universe is that it
?EURoefeels strong and it feels real?EUR.
of the different factions have very good reasons to justify their
existence and their ongoing struggles with the rival nations.
of the characters have legitimate motivations and credible mindsets.
drama is tight, focused on a long chain of major events that covers
millennia of spoken myths and written history.
&Everything
is related. Every action has its consequences, sometimes hundreds of
years later.
Fabrice Cambounet, game producer.
FAQ is intended to clarify current information on Heroes of Might &
Magic V. It is targeted primarily to fans, who raised a number of
questions regarding the current development status, and was designed
with the help of community leaders.
-&&&&&&&&&
hasn?EUR(TM)t been a lot of information revealed so far about the game since
it was announced, will there be more information soon?
the game was announced in March, we?EUR(TM)ve been working very hard on
developing the game, trying out new ideas and testing features. Because
it?EUR(TM)s still so early, we want to make sure that we communicate
confirmed game information and features.
are bringing many great improvements to the game, and our priority is to
make the right decisions and implement them, so we want to make sure we
don?EUR(TM)t talk about features that might never make their way to the final
-&&&&&&&&&
towns are in the game?
are six towns in the game, two of which were revealed at E3: humans and
demons. Other towns will be revealed later. What you can expect in the
remaining four towns is a completely new one and a bit of shake-up.
-&&&&&&&&&
will happen with the old Might & Magic world?
decided to create a completely new world, so we know and can control all
aspects about it. This is really a huge investment, and, I think, a
testimony of Ubisoft?EUR(TM)s involvement in the license. There are quite a
few people here dedicated to the crafting and rebirth of the Might and
Magic world.
main reason for creating a new world is to avoid any mistakes or
inconsistencies with previous titles: there wasn?EUR(TM)t a complete bible
for the old Might and Magic universe and because we were missing
information, we would have run the risk of making critical errors in
recreating the old universe.
other reason is that we wanted to create a deep and dense world, in
which we would be able to ensure better continuity?EUR”starting with Heroes of Might & Magic V - and decide what goes on in the world
or in the scenario.
-&&&&&&&&&
are you simplifying the game?
we?EUR(TM)ve never said that we were simplifying the game, I?EUR(TM)ve read this
in some forums. I understand that fans have concerns about Heroes
gameplay that they have enjoyed in the past. The truth is that the game
is not being simplified compared to previous versions. The fact is that
we?EUR(TM)re making a game that is easier to access, and faster to play.
We?EUR(TM)re
working on a tutorial to help new players get up to speed (precisely
because this game has a great deal of depth), along with a detailed
world and intricate storyline.
also means working on the game ergonomics and making multiplayer faster
to play. Not seeing some interface or lengthy text doesn?EUR(TM)t mean the
inner structure was simplified, just that it will be easier to navigate
in the game.
-&&&&&&&&&
this game just Heroes 3 in 3D?
this is Heroes of Might and Magic
Now, this is a tough question. The fan community is clearly divided
between Heroes 3 and Heroes 4.
Both games have good ideas, and neither completely takes the lead over
the other.
in the production we discussed where we wanted to go with the gameplay.
We looked at how things were handled in previous games to see if there
was a way to make it more interesting and if there was room for
improvement.
many cases?EUR”like with 3D, towns, world, scenario, campaign, and others,
we made huge improvements for the new game. In other cases, the debate
raged for a long time before we reached a solution that was balanced and
understandable. For instance, we were faced with the question of ?EURoeto
be or to not to be on the battlefield?EUR for heroes, so we designed an
intermediate solution where they can enter the field to do specific
actions. We also added some new elements, of course. Most of them will
be optional so you can play the game the way you like. Battles, for
instance, can be played in turn-based or in dynamic mode. There are also
many small elements in battles that will increase the tactical choices.
In other areas, we stayed true to the tradition: stacks, resources, turn
structure, etc?EUR?
in the great realm of multiplayer gameplay, there will be a lot of new
features. There is a mode where you will be able to play, even when
it?EUR(TM)s not your turn to play! This is a revolutionary mode for
turn-based games. So, all in all, I believe we are making a real step
-&&&&&&&&&
this particular graphical design?
want to update the look of the series, while keeping the core principles
of its rules. The game must be recognized as a Heroes game at first
look. We wanted create a lively world with many details and for it to
have a medieval flavor, with bright colors, shiny items, bold heroes,
fearless units, and impressive towns. The look of the game is inspired
by many modern sources, from all parts of the world. These sources have
been used and adapted by artists to create a more epic version of the
previous games.
-&&&&&&&&&
are heroes out of the battlefield?
is one of the most difficult decisions we had to make on the gameplay. Heroes
4 proposed a new take on heroes by including them in the battles.
This created new possibilities: More than one hero could be in an army,
an army could be without a hero, an army could be made of heroes without
any creature.
was a bold step that also created an imbalance: fresh heroes were poor
beings to protect, while stronger ones could wipe out whole armies by
themselves. Unless the growth of heroes?EUR(TM) power was removed, this could
not be balanced. But it was a great idea, and we looked for ways to stay
close to it.
me, many options were considered, and we agreed that the current one
fulfilled all criteria. It is a mix of both versions that can be tuned
and balanced, it allows the hero to act on the battlefield, gives out
new options with the hero growth and allows different actions for
different factions. That solution means that heroes, although having the
ability to fight on the battlefield, are mostly commanders: They need an
army at all times, and an army needs a commander in the same way.
-&&&&&&&&&
about the retaliation system?
went for the alternate system of battles. It offers more tactical
opportunities?EUR”you have to time and plan your actions, in order to get
the clear advantage of being the attacker. Plus, it is certainly easier
to understand visually, with less action and info jumping at you at the
same moment.
-&&&&&&&&&
there no fog of war?
course there is one! It was removed from the E3 demo, only to allow us
to show the different areas of the map.
-&&&&&&&&&
is this hero?EUR(TM)s trail?
is a new feature of the game. Each hero will leave a sort of trail
behind him, enabling others to track him. This trail will be different
for each race, and it will grow in size with the hero?EUR(TM)s level. Thus
you will be able to judge who has come by in an area.
-&&&&&&&&&
is the size of the battlefield? And how does it vary?
default size of the battlefield is similar to previous games, in terms
of the number of cells. It will switch to a smaller size, if both armies
are small (with few stacks). The goal here is to play small battles
faster, to speed up the game, especially the first encounters. You can,
however, easily force a large battlefield, if your strategy requires it,
by having more stacks. Sieges will be played on the largest version.
-&&&&&&&&&
the combat completely automated?
it is not. This impression could be coming from the E3 demo. We removed
all interface from the battle phase and all controls. This was done to
get the best sequence of action, and elaborate better cameras. We
didn?EUR(TM)t want to show the control system at this stage.
-&&&&&&&&&
less of this?EUR or ?EURoemore of that?EUR?
Heroes?EUR(TM)
discussions are often a fight of figures. How many creatures? How many
spells? ?EURoeMy skill system has more choices than yours,?EUR that sort of
thing. Although these elements are an important part of the game
(especially when considering the number of missions or number of towns),
this is not a complete picture of the gameplay. A better system, with
more strategic choices, leading to more ways of playing, does not
necessarily rely on more items.
for sure, in comparison with previous games, there are areas where Heroes
of Might & Magic V will have ?EURoeless than?EUR, or ?EURoemore
than?EUR. When this is the case, it was a deliberate choice to do so.
This may have been done because the underlying system works well,
because it will be easier to balance, or because this area of the game
has a specific level of importance compared to the rest. It can also be
that we want to have some room left to expand on for the future.
-&&&&&&&&&
there be open beta testing?
will be different beta tests, with a different number of seats and
different objectives. There will be at least a closed one, which will
include a good number of fans, and we are planning for an open one later
for a larger community. More details will be announced, and the first
beta test should open in late summer.
-&&&&&&&&&
are these ?EURoerandom events?EUR? What about that dragon appearing at the
end of the trailer and the E3 demo?
was a cliffhangerJ.
This was done to round out the end of the sequence nicely, with some
surprise. Perhaps it is also linked to the story?EUR?I?EUR(TM)ve read wild
speculations about this being a gameplay element using random
appearances that could break the game flow. This is an assumption based
on a rumor, of course.
-&&&&&&&&&
are these ?EURoeyear-old?EUR screens that popped up on the net?
game development started a long time ago, way more than one and a half
years now. A few external people were allowed to have a look, and some
leaked these very early screens over the Internet and broke personal and
contractual trust. The important point to remember is that these
elements are so old that almost all of them are outdated. The game has
progressed a lot further, so these screens do not represent what the
game is like today.
conclusion, there are still many good things ahead until the game
releases. We are releasing the first wallpaper which features the
?EURoeGodric?EUR artwork by Olivier Ledroit, who works with us on the
artistic direction of the brand. We will be featuring an interview with
Olivier soon, so stay tuned.
When it appeared 10 years ago, Heroes
of Might and Magic quickly established a loyal and fervent fan base,
thanks in large part to its addictive and deep strategic gameplay.
Heroes of Might and Magic was a turn-based strategy game that let you
control a fantasy race, build up a fortress city, and then raise armies
in an attempt to conquer a magical realm. It was so good that it led to
four sequels, including the upcoming Heroes of Might and Magic V, due
out in 2006. Heroes of Might and Magic V is a step in a whole new
direction in a number of ways. First, it's being developed by Russia's
Nival Interactive, as opposed to longtime series creator and developer
New World Computing. Second, it's being set in a whole new environment.
To get the latest details, we caught up with Ubisoft producer Fabrice
Cambounet and assistant producer Thomas Le Grand.
How do you feel Heroes V was received at the Electronic Entertainment
Expo by the press and the fans?
Fabrice Cambounet and Thomas Le
Grand: We received great
feedback and incredible buzz from fans, retailers, press, in the
official forums and communities, and even other developers and
publishers. Everybody wanted to know more about the game, and it seems
we managed to deliver what they were expecting. Fans are always eager
for one more bit of information or one more screenshot, and many
journalists seem to be fans themselves. The Heroes franchise is still
very strong and very popular. According to the feedback we received
during the show and in the forums, it seems we are on the right track to
make a great game that any Heroes fan will be proud of.
Are the new factions starting to take shape at this point? Is it safe to
compare the strengths and weaknesses of returning factions, like the
humans and the inferno town (which seem to strongly resemble the castle
and inferno towns of Heroes III), to previous versions of them in
previous games? Or are the factions being changed significantly to add
more variety, since there are fewer than there were in Heroes III or IV?
Indeed, the factions are really starting to take shape at this point of
the development. Most of them are already playable, and they look and
behave very nicely.
From the outset, Ubisoft decided to
revamp the whole Might and Magic universe into a revolutionary modern
fantasy. So, we have created a brand-new world, with a new mythology
and, of course, new factions. As a result, the current factions are not
directly similar to the ones available in previous games. Since we have
a new cosmogony, a new philosophy, a new world, and a new magic system,
it is really hard to compare them. Nonetheless, as you pointed out, we
decided to respect the franchise legacy. We have kept some of the most
emblematic features, like, as you mentioned, the haven faction partially
resembles the previous castle faction. We believe that subtle
familiarity is great for the game and its fans. We wanted to remain
consistent with the legacy and respect the heritage. We also have some
surprises for you, such as a never-been-seen-before faction.
In addition to this new world and the
new factions' composition, we also worked on an improved gameplay. This
means you will find a new balance and new strengths and weaknesses, as
well as specific abilities in order to let the players set up several
tactics and strategies in Heroes of Might and Magic V.
We've seen from the E3 version of the game that much of the classic
overland exploration remains, such as finding treasure chests that can
be converted to gold or experience, resource nodes like lumber mills and
gold mines, and monsters guarding artifacts and gateways. Can we also
expect to see underground, or perhaps, multiple layers of underground
exploration? Will there be overseas navigation, as in the previous
Heroes games? What other enhancements or additions are being made to the
exploration aspect of the game?
To keep some things a surprise to fans like yourself, we can't reveal a
lot of the content of the game. We can say, however, that the
exploration part of the game will be as detailed as it was in previous
games, and better. Thanks to the detailed 3D world that is being built,
you can spend a lot of time simply exploring and discovering regions of
the map. Hopefully this will not distract players from actually
conquering enemy towns, but, in any case, this will greatly improve the
experience of playing the game.
Could you discuss more details on the role of hero characters in the
game? As we've seen, heroes will return to their positions off the
battlefield (rather than on it, as in Heroes IV), and they will still be
able to learn different types of skills, such as combat abilities or
advancing in different schools of magic. Will each hero still }